New World Order
by rachmcsp
Summary: During the summer after fourth year Harry learns more than he ever dreamed. Armed with a new mentor and new knowledge he is finally coming into his own.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One: Summer of '95**

Even though he had not known it; Harrison Potter's life had been mapped out for him, ending with him in an early grave all because there were certain people who entered into his life who never learned how to keep their crooked noses out of matters that did not concern them. He was thankful when he encountered a man named Romulus Mayfield. An older gentleman who looked to be in his late eighties had popped into his life so abruptly but he would not have it any other way. If it were not for Romulus he would have still been on a path that he was never meant to be on.

He had been minding his own business laying in the grass near the garden on the front lawn underneath the window listening to the news when a large shadow loomed over him, blocking the sun. Harrison froze on instinct, expecting the worst to come seeing as he did not have a proper chance to defend himself with his wand. He had come to realize that he would die by Voldemort's wand at a young age, but he hoped that he would have at least a fighting chance, die a hero's death like everyone believed he would. Harrison also hoped that he would have been finished Hogwarts by the time their final battle approaches. He was about to start to his fifth year and he still didn't have a clue on how to defeat the newly resurrected Dark Lord. He was fifteen and he didn't have the skill nor the power to take him on.

He also knew that without his friends Ron and Hermione it would have died years ago.

He waited for the taunting and torturing but nothing came. He opened his eyes slowly expecting to see a Death Eater, he knew that Voldemort was still recovering, but what he found was an old withering face that held a bright smile and teal eyes. Harrison didn't know this man, he had never seen him around Privet Drive before which made him all the more wary, just because he had the face and body of an old man does not mean it was not a Death Eater in disguise who was hoping to catch him off guard.

"Well hello there young wizard, I was wondering if I could use your assistance." The old man said jovially.

Harrison took his time standing up to face the man; looking at him suspiciously. "What would I be able to help you with?" he asked.

"I just moved across the way and I would love to have the companionship while I settle in. It is not very often you meet another Magical in such an area as this one."

Harrison was still not ready to put his trust in this stranger. "Do you know who I am?" he asked.

"I had not until I seen that scar upon your forehead, you are indeed Harry Potter."

"So you can understand why I am not willing to trust you. For all I know you could be a Death Eater."

"Yes, that could very well be true, but if I wanted to take you to Voldemort, I could have done so without announcing my presence. But you are very smart to be wary of strangers, and I can assure you that I am not in league with Voldemort. But since I know you are smarter than to take me for my word alone I will swear an oath to you."

It seemed to Harrison that this man was trying really hard to convince him that he is a trustworthy man. He wished that his life was simple enough that he could greet and help his new neighbour without suspicion, but his life was no longer that simple and he hated it. But this stranger was willing to swear an oath than how bad could he really be? After a well worded oath that left no room for loophole he followed the man to his house across the street to get to know a fellow wizard that was not out to kill him.

It was not long before he found himself in Romulus' company everyday, always learning something new. It was not long before they turned into full on lessons after Romulus realized the state of the boys' education, which should have been more advanced than it was. While he had not gone to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry he knew many people how had and they received an excellent education. He also decided that he would be pulling a few strings to make sure something about done about all the negligence that had been occurring over the last few decades. He did not want to see the next generation of Magicals become incompetent; he would even build his own school if he had to, if that's what it took to make Wizarding Britain on top again. Because if they were not careful their entire community will crumble before their eyes.

He had been alive long enough to know that they were becoming stagnant in a world that should have been thriving, but they chose not to evolve, they were scared of change, but what they don't understand is that will eventually kill them in the end. Romulus was glad that he could influence one young mind in a time of absolute despair. He was not expecting to stumble upon Harrison when he moved to Privet Drive, he was not expecting anything, he just wanted to live out his days in relative peace. He had nothing else to live for, no family and no friends to fill his life with; that was until Harrison arrived. He did not see what most people saw, he did not see a saviour that was prophesized to save the world. He saw a sad and confused young boy who had too much weight placed on his small shoulders, a young boy who was looking for someone to lean on, to guide him in the right direction. He saw a young boy looking for something positive in his life, something that he seemed to be lacking his entire life.

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As the summer wore on the two wizards had grown close, Harrison had shared things with Romulus that he never considered sharing with even his best friends, and in return Romulus told Harrison all about his childhood and his wife and children and what had happened to them so long ago. They had reached a point in their new relationship that Harrison no longer slept in his room with his relatives, While the Dursley's were out Harrison and Romulus went to collect his things before they made it home, if he was ever going to learn he would need to wand and books even though they were of no use to him.

Harrison wished that he had meet Romulus sooner, wishing that he had a mentor when he first entered the Wizarding World, he was sure that he would have done things differently, but he wouldn't change the past if he got the chance because he liked who he was becoming. Harrison supported his idea of creating his own school if the school governors' decline his proposition of changing the schools curriculum. He knew that Romulus would be great at it. Even though the lessons were hard they were things that every witch and wizard should know, he was shocked when he realized how worse things have gotten once Dumbledore took over as Headmaster of Hogwarts.

Romulus had gone to see the Goblins about installing a Time Compression Ward for the summer, he needed more than a month if he was going to teach Harrison how to be a proper wizard and have the knowledge to back up his rapidly growing powers. The training that Romulus had put him though was rigorous, but Harrison knew by the time summer was over he would be able to take his seventh year N.E. . and then some.

They had started with basic Magical Theory all the way up to Advanced Magical Theory. Which Harrison used to find dull when he had to take it in his first year of school, but the more Romulus told him the more fascinated be became and wondered why they didn't offer this as a course for more than a year when there was so much to learn. By the end of the subject Harrison liked to believe that he was in on a very obvious secret that to many Magicals are oblivious to. There was a lot of reading and a lot of confusion and discussions, but he knew that he was better for learning it, he now knew how complex magic truly was. It was something that he used to take for granted after the shock and excitement wore off, it was always there, he did not realized how much potential everyone had inside of them, if only they were not so scared of the changes it would cause.

After that very enlightening lesson, they moved on to Wizarding customs and traditions of the Old World that not many hold dear anymore. Most of them had been lost and forgotten throughout generations while others had been banned for because the newer generations did not know of the meanings behind them. Many even got tossed and replaced with Mundane customs and traditions which did not sit right with Harrison. He was sad to know many of the seasonal customs that held a real meaning for witches and wizards were replaced by ones that they didn't understand. He swore to himself that he would honour the old ways that have been lost.

Next on the long list of subjects was Wizarding Etiquette seeing as he was the heir to a Ancient and Noble House there was a certain way he had to carry himself, a certain way he needed to interact with other people who hold the same position as him. He needed to attend the right meetings and parties so he could meet other rising Lords and Ladies. Harrison was upset to realize that this was the sort of his Magical Guardian was suppose to guide him through, and was even more upset to realize that he didn't know who his Magical Guardian was. That prompted another trip to Gringotts.

"Key?" said the gruff voice of a goblin, holding his hand out impatiently.

Harrison was caught off guard, realizing Molly Weasley still had his key in her possession. He cleared his throat. "I don't have a key in my possession, but could I bother you for a new one?" he asked.

The goblin looked up at him in annoyance. "It will be ten gallons to have a new key made." He said before pulling out a small gold key and a blade. "I need to prick your finger." After the key was made he passed it back to Harrison. "Never let another person have possession of your key again, keep it safe. I have had the other one destroyed. Now what is your business here?" he barked.

"I came here to find out who my Magical Guardian is. I was told here would be the safest place to gather information." Harrison told the rude goblin politely.

The goblin stood from his stool abruptly and walked down the corridor, coming back a few moments later with another goblin. "This is account manager Redclaw; he had been in charge of the Potter accounts for the last three centuries. He will take you to his office." The goblin quickly dismissed them by returning to his paperwork, not giving them another glance.

Harrison and Romulus moved out of the line as they waited for Redclaw to lead them to his office. Redclaw waved them forward to follow him to an empty room. Once seated, he looked between the two men in silence before setting his gaze on Harrison. "Are you sure you trust this man in the room for our conversation?" Redclaw asked.

"Yes. I trust him not to repeat anything said here today."

With a snap of his fingers a large file appeared on the table. "I was unaware of the fact that wizards who live with Mundanes have an appointed Magical Guardian. I was wondering if anywhere in my file said who was mine."

Redclaw looked shocked but he hid it quickly, it was not a common occurrence for something like this to happen. Once a child was appointed or gained a Magical Guardian they play a very crucial part in the child's life. But Redclaw remembered hearing about how the Potter boy was brought to Hogwarts by that half giant Hagrid. Nothing about this sat right with the Potter account manager. That was the first strike against the man who claimed to be taking the best care of his charge. Redclaw was going to be very business for the next couple of days trying to get all of this madness sorted out. He sighed deeply before looking at the young boy.

"I don't need this file to tell who your Magical Guardian; it is none other than Albus Dumbledore himself. He had petitioned to become your Magical Guardian the night your parents died, and while he was not the only one who wanted to guide your introduction to the magical world, but had the backing of the Ministry, and no one wanted to go against them. Are you telling me that he has not been performing his duties to help you grow into your role as Lord Harrison Potter of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter?"

"Yes, that is exactly what I am saying. I learned about my magic and the wizarding world when I turned ten by a half giant who really didn't tell me anything."

"I guess it is also safe to assume that you have not been getting your mail?" Redclaw asked with a murderous expression on his face.

"That would be correct Redclaw."

"We have been trying to contact you since your tenth birthday. You have only entered our bank once not including today and no one had informed me. There were plenty of things that I wanted to go over with you, along side your Magical Guardian, but that has never happened, and now I find myself very upset. Albus Dumbledore as your Magical Guardian gives him access to your trust vault, and he had been making withdrawals and depositing them into a number of different vaults. But there is no need to worry because I intend to take every last knut back from him."

Harrison's face was turning red and Romulus was having a hard time just sitting back. But he knew that he couldn't contribute to the conversation because it had nothing to do with him.

"I want a new Guardian."

"I can assure you young Lord that Albus Dumbledore will be removed immediately. We have tangible proof of his wrong doings so there will be no need to take this to trial, all we need a confession under Veritserum that you had no knowledge of these transactions before today and he will be stripped from the title, never allowed to hold such a position again. In fact I am sure many of his other positions within this world will be called into question as well. As for your need to have a guardian that no longer matters, once your name came out of the Goblet of Fire last year you became emancipated, you are considered an adult within this world.

To say that Harrison was shocked would be a little bit of an understatement. He was sure if Dumbledore knew the results of letting him continue with the Tri-Wizard Tournament would mean complete freedom, he was sure the old man would have tried harder to keep him out of it.

"Good." He managed to say calmly.

"You are fifteen years of age now, coming of age early is not common but it does happen. There is a lot of responsibly resting on you now. At a later date before the summer season is gone we will get together once more to go over the proper channels to announcing your Lordship Status. I know that you have more questions that want to be asked, but let us leave them for later, I believe that you have got the answers that you were seeking."

Redclaw dismissed them by getting up and showing them the door with a promise of setting up another appointment with him. The old goblin watched as the pair of wizards left his office, he could feel the bond that was growing between them getting stronger. He knew that the two of them were going to change the world, and it would shake everyone to their very cores.

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Romulus and Harrison had left the bank feeling a lot better and decided to take the rest of the day off from their lessons. Romulus had decided to give him a different type of lesson because he was positive that he had never been out of Diagon Alley. It was time for Harrison to expand his magical horizons. He was slowly suffocating and he did not even realize it.

Romulus stopped Harrison on the steps of the bank. "We are not going straight home, I believe that a little field trip is in order. We are going to take a little stroll through London's Mystic District."

"Where is that?" Harrison asked, never hearing of such a place before.

"It is right here, though from what you have told me not many of the people you know ever venture there or even know of it like that Hermione girl you always talk about. You have to go through Knockturn and Cryptic Alley which are two of the worst Alleys to venture through. But there are several entrances that will get you to the same place. If I did not know you so well I would have found another entrance, but I know you want to explore everything. Place a glamour upon yourself and we shall leave."

Harrison smiled at the man widely, he was officially emancipated, and had been since his name came out of the Goblet. He would place money on the fact that Dumbledore probably had known the outcome, just believed that he would never find out for himself. He cast the spell upon himself and he and Romulus turned towards Knockturn Alley.

Harrison remembered the last time he had been there in Second Year, and he was not afraid to admit that he had been scared, but he trusted Romulus and knew that no harm would come to him. As they walked Romulus had pointed out shops to him, like _Emer's Wand Crafters_ , unlike _Oilivander's_ Jacob Emer actually crafts his wand to fit the person, it costs more but you get a better fitted wand. He pointed out a formal robe shop called _Msaw Ætare._ Romulus pointed out its importance because that is one of two formal robe shops in the Great Britain. He pointed out _Borgins and Burkes_ and Harrison had told him about his first experience using the Floo Network. They made their way past _The Coffin House_ , _The Starry Prophesier_ , _Markus Scarrs Indelible Tattoos_ and _The White Wyvern_ before they finally made it to Cryptic Alley.

Harrison looked around the place with a weird sense of wonder, not knowing why he had never heard mention of any other alley or the Mystic District before today; he thought that it would be something else that the pure-blooded children would be bragging about to the mundane born witches and wizards. The entire place looked to be abandoned but Harrison knew that to be untrue by the way Romulus' eyes would shift from side to side as if he was waiting for something or someone to surprise them. Harrison was surprised that it seemed to be a normal housing district, there was not a single shop in this alley, just houses and apartments that looked they were getting ready to keel over at the slightest breeze.

Romulus had told him about the kind of witches and wizards that live in this alley, he had nothing good to say about them, and he had been speaking from experience from a time when he too had been holed up in one of the dingy apartments. Harrison did not press any further at the moment knowing that this was not the time for such heavy discussion this was a time for exploring. Once they were out of Cryptic Alley everything seemed to change, the sky was bluer and clear and what surprised Harrison the most was all of the people milling about. What he noticed the most was unlike Diagon Alley, no one seemed to be wearing wizarding robes, the one thing that usually distinguishes them from mundanes.

"This is Merlin Square." Romulus said to him, holding his arms out in a grand gesture. "This was built in honor of Merlin, if you look right over there you can see the statue of him." he said pointing to the center of the square where a marble statue of Merlin stood high and proud. Harrison had never seen such a beautiful place before, he loved it, whoever had done the landscaping, he was impressed, it was like a work of art come to life. Romulus led him through the picnic area and over to a large building. "This is Concert Green; this is where many people in Britain come to see live bands and shows. It is still early in the morning so they should be playing a live show for the children until late noon."

Romulus dragged him further until they came to Carkitt Market. He had not been here long but Harrison already enjoyed it more than Diagon Alley, he liked the openness of it all, the vendors were always smiling and seemed to have a very energetic attitude, they engaged with the customers. It was like a maze that Harrison never wanted to find his way out of. They had your traditional fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs but they also catered to your wizarding needs as well, they had everything from toadstools to fish eggs, to gardening plants. And even some vendors provided you with live fish and animals for sale.

They continued until they came to a new alley, Parsh Alley, the alley that would forever be partially finished. Harrison did not have a great interest in the place, as far as he was concerned it was a place that Merlin may or may have not really lived at, and while the Ministry had not demolished it, they were not really helping it either. The place was slowly falling apart on its own, it was nothing but ruins, and a quarter of a mansion where squatters live. The way Harrison sees it, the Ministry should cut their losses and demolish the place, he was sure that Merlin would rather have his mansion removed so they could put some decent housing, instead of the homeless living in such a place.

The last stop of the day was Whimzick Alley. Harrison looked around in wonder, this had to be the most colorful alley had had stepped foot in yet. Everything was so vibrant and full of life. There were people on the street painting, singing and dancing, they were so full of passion, it was like they were untouched by the outside world. The alley was full of twists and turns, there were people eating at cafes, there were art galleries and live theatre. Harrison could see himself spending a lot of time in this alley, getting to know the locals.

"Can we come back here again tomorrow?" Harrison asked, he wanted to get to know the place better.

"Sure we can, there are still a few more places I want to show you." Romulus responded.

They walked to the end of the alley where a multicolored brick wall stood in their way. Romulus took out his wand and tapped a few blocks before the wall opened. After they made it through the wall closed before them. They were in a storage room filled with painting. "We are in the storage room of an art gallery, we will apparate from here." Romulus said before taking hold of his shoulder.

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Once back home under the Time Compression Ward they got back to their lessons. Arithmancy was a class that Harrison wasn't not fond of, but like the good student he now was he sucked it up and did what was asked of him. He didn't like the idea of people predicting the future, and he knew he was never going to use this subject once he was finished with school. He could see why this was one of Hermione's favorite classes, with Divination you needed at least some form of seer ability, but with Arithmancy it was just calculations, something Hermione enjoyed to no end. Harrison passed this subject quickly and wondered why he never gave it a chance in third year.

Next on the list was Charms.

Romulus was a great teacher, he taught in a way that was easy to understand, letting you find your own way of learning the information and going from there. It seemed that with the right technique Harrison was a relatively fast learner; soon he was picking up the material in a snap, even the Advanced Charms that would have no doubt given him trouble if Professor Flitwick had tried to teach him. After surpassing the seven year curriculum they had moved on to Transfiguration. This process continued through Defense, Potions, Herbology and Runes.

History of Magic seemed to take a bit more time which was why Romulus had decided to teach that last, and seeing as their Professor had never actually provided them with real lessons Harrison was lacking more than he should have been. By the time his lessons were over he was exhausted and his brain hurt. They still had plenty of time left in the Time Compression Ward, it would ware off a week before the beginning of September so it would give them a little bit of time to adjust.

And since they still had some time before Harrison was back at Hogwarts Romulus had taught him Occlumency so that the Headmaster and his Potions Professor would not be able to spy on him through his thoughts. He also taught him Healing Magic because he was sure that it would come in handy with all of the trouble he manages to get himself into. And surprisingly Romulus had taught him Parselmagic. They had both been trying to gain the attention of snakes that loitered around the green house. He taught him how to speak and write fluently, before they were done it was like he had been doing it his whole life. He also taught him about how people like them came to be and learned that everything Dumbledore told him was a lie. It was family magic, which meant it could only be passed by blood, and there was not just blood line that had it, there were many. And Harrison was going to learn more about them during the Winter Solstice.

The summer was drawing to a close and Harrison found himself back at Gringotts with Romulus by his side. They had received an owl telling them the date and time of their meeting the day before, and to make sure the letter was received he had it addressed to Romulus. They sat down side by side across from Redclaw with a few large folders sitting before them.

"Why don't we get right into business Lord Potter, you are here today because you are no longer considered to be a minor in this community even though you are still quite young. Am I right in assuming that before your meeting with Lord Mayfield you were not aware of what standing you held?" After confirmation he began again. "We will be going over your accounts and over your properties and titles, and I can assure you, there are many, some quite surprising." He said with a feral smile.

Harrison had left the bank feeling worse than when he left, he had leaned of things that were going to make it that much harder to go back to school as if nothing had changed. How would he be able to look anyone in the eyes again, especially Dumbledore who is one half of all of his problems since before he was even born? His friends would know that something is wrong, and how would they take the news if he had tells them the truth? He just didn't know anymore, but he was going to be taking matters into his own hands for now on with the help of his mentor and friend Romulus.

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The summer was over and it was hard for Harrison to say goodbye. He did not understand why he needed to go back to Hogwarts when he would no longer benefit from it. Romulus reminded him of Ron and Hermione and how they would want to graduate Hogwarts together. Harrison argued that he would be board in his classes, but Romulus made him a promise to send him a project every week to help keep him mind stimulated. Harrison really could not object, he knew that he would miss his friends as well and that if he wanted to keep certain people off his back he would have to continue on as if things haven't changed.

Romulus and Harrison had apparated to Kings Cross Station. Romulus stayed until Harrison went through Platform nine and three quarters to the Hogwarts Express.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two: September of '95**

Upon finding an empty compartment at the back of the train Harrison locked the door and silenced the room so he could not hear them and they could not hear him. He did not want to face Ron and Hermione just yet, he didn't know what to tell them, if he should tell them the truth or if he should say nothing at all. Romulus had become very important to him and if he knew Ron and Hermione like he knew he did than they would want to know everything about him and they would question his character and morals. They would become defensive when he took Romulus side and they would want to tell Dumbledore about him. And speaking of the Headmaster he was sure they would never believe him when he tells them what he had done.

The Weasley clan worships the ground that man walks on, and have instilled the same sense of devotion onto their children. He remembers when he met the youngest Weasley male, Ron Weasley was a boy who full of opinions that were not his own and ideals that he knew nothing about. One of them being that Dumbledore was the leader of the light witches and wizards and everything that happens he needs to know about it. Hermione Granger was another story, she could go either way, she would be torn between being loyal to her best friend and the need the please those who hold authority over her. She would do whatever she thinks is best, even though she is not always correct; her heart is usually in the right place.

He would wait a few days before bringing up Romulus as a topic of conversation, he wanted to wait to get back into the swing of things, besides they would have plenty to talk about anyway, seeing as he was sure they both had a busy summer, which was why he did not receive a single letter from either of them and did not answer any of his. Harrison was mature enough to forgive them for it as long as they had a good enough reason. Harrison knew that he could not afford to be petty, not at this stage in his life.

Between his misadventures at school and his summer with the Dursley's he never had time for himself, never had the time to figure out what he wanted to do with the rest of his life. He was going into his fifth year at Hogwarts and these were the times where young witches and wizards try to define themselves, try to figure out what they want to do upon leaving school and entering themselves into the working force.

At a young age Harrison did not understand that his life would get more difficult the older he became, he now knew better and all he wanted to do was fall off the face of the earth and let wizarding Britain fend for themselves against Voldemort. Considering the life span of an average wizard he was still just a baby who was still learning to walk compared to half of the population of witches and wizards in Britain.

Harrison had changed into his robes as soon as he settled into his compartment; he let Hedwig out of her cage so she could fly to the castle. After he had finished eating lunch he had spent the rest of the train ride sleeping, something that he had not gotten enough of during the summer, there had always been something that had kept him up at night. When the Hogwarts Express was stationed at Hogsmead Harrison wasted no time making his way over to the carriages, he wasn't surprised to see the Thestrals, and Romulus had briefly gone over a few magical animals that he should take an interest in.

Harrison didn't care where he sat with as long as it was neither Ron nor Hermione; he didn't want to see them yet, the carriage was filled with third year Ravenclaw students who didn't see the need for making pointless conversation which Harrison was grateful for. Harrison wasn't sure what to feel as he slowly approached the magnificent castle known as Hogwarts, for a long time this had been his sanctuary from the Dursley's, but know he sees it as some place he wished he didn't have to go, to many bad things have happened to him here, and after meeting Romulus he noticed how the bad seemed to outweigh the good. The only reason he had come back was because of Romulus, if he ever wanted to get a job, he would need to pass his seventh year.

After the rigorous training regime that Romulus had put him through he knew that he could be able to pass his seventh year N.E.W.T exams today if given the chance, and he also knew that once word got to Dumbledore he would try to put a stop to it. Harrison also did not want the attention on him, but he knew better than to believe that he would go through the year unnoticed, and it wont because of the trouble he somehow always manages to get into, but would because he was going to hold nothing back this year.

Harrison wasn't sure what he wanted to do when they finally made it to the castle. Did he want to sit in the Great Hall and wait for Ron and Hermione to find him or did he just want to go to his room for the night. He knew that they would bombard him with questions that he was not ready to answer the moment they spot him. His safest option would be to wait until the morning, even though they were going to be mad at him, he didn't want to say the wrong thing to them either. Before heading up to the dormitories he had asked a sixth year prefect for the password. Once he was alone he called for Dobby, hoping to get some food from the kitchens. After his usual spiel about the greatness that is Harrison James Potter and large tears spilling out of his large green eyes when he was thanked he popped out of the room giving Harrison his much needed space though he had never minded Dobby's company.

Harrison smiled at the spot where Dobby had stood. He knew that the small creature would be coming in handy this year and the following two. And who knew, maybe when school was finished Dobby would want to work for him, its all the small elf ever talked about to the other elves in the kitchen how one day he would become the Potter's elf. When his food was finished he set it on the bedside table knowing that one of the elves would take it in the morning. He took out his pyjamas and headed to the showers, wanting to wash off the train ride before climbing into bed. Once he was inside his blankets he put a sticking charm on his curtains before placing a silencing charm so he will not be able to hear anyone who comes into the room.

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Harrison was pacing the common room waiting for Hermione to make her way down the stairs. He had become some what of an early riser during his summer with Romulus who always liked to attend to the gardens early in the morning. He knew that this was going to be an adjustment and he wanted to make this as easy as possible for Hermione, he loved her like he is sure he would love a sister if he had the pleasure of having one. After ten minutes of relentless pacing he moved to sit on the large chair across from the fireplace that the elves had kept going throughout the night.

"Harry?" said the soft voice of Hermione Granger from behind him, not startling him like it would have a few months ago. "Where have you been? You've had me worried to death!" she berated him like a mother would her child, moving around the bulky chair quickly to wrap him in a hug.

He waited until she pulled away and made room for her on the chair to sit next to him, even though he knew he was in very close proximity to her right hand, which she would no doubt use to slap him by the time he was done talking. He smiled at her sadly; hoping that she would understand where he is coming from. "I've been on Privet Drive, and I only left twice, besides you know there are wards keeping track of me there."

"We had gone for you; you relatives said they haven't seen you all summer." It was a statement but Hermione was waiting for an answer all the same and when she was answered with a blank stare she continued with, "where were you Harry?" she was worried for him just like she'd always been.

"That's not important right now Hermione. I want to tell you something and I do not want any interruptions until I'm done." Harrison looked at her, watching as she nodded her head in agreement. "I have learnt a lot about myself this summer, and one of these things that I have learnt about myself is that I can no longer stand behind Dumbledore, he was not the man I thought he was." He saw Hermione go to open her mouth. "And before you say anything, I went to Gringotts this summer, turns out that he was my magical guardian meaning he has access to my vaults and has been stealing money from me since I was a baby, he had been giving it to my relatives and to himself and into an account called The Order of the Phoenix. And he is also a lair, the ability to talk to snakes did not come from this scar, it can only be passed down by blood, it is genetic. And Voldemort is not the only one who can speak it; there is a whole community out there."

Hermione looked at her best friend in horror, wondering how a Headmaster of a school could do such a thing. "Harry," she breathed out, speechless. Since she couldn't find the words for comfort she just hugged him again, tight as though he would fall apart if she lessened her hold just a little. Hermione didn't like to see him so down, but there was nothing that she could say to make him feel any better, in fact what she needed to tell him was going to make him angry. "You said the Order of the Phoenix, I know what that is." She told him softly. She felt Harrison stiffen and she hated it. "Dumbledore has a secret organization to fight against Voldemort and his followers; that is what it is called. Ron and I had tried to send you letters all summer, even though Dumbledore had forbid us against it. We almost got a few out with the help of the twins, but we were always caught."

"There is something else as well," Harrison told her moving out of the hug, not wanting to talk about Dumbledore any longer, it only served to put him in a worse mood than he was already in. "Ron and I may go our separate ways this year, Hermione. Its not that I don't want him in my life, because I do, he had been a great friend to me over the years. But with what happened during the Tournament, I can not allow that to happen to me again. I thought that Ron had known me better than anyone else; I thought that he would be on my side no matter what. People change and they grow apart. It may be strange to you, but I am not the same person that I had been last year. Ron and I will clash and we will fight and it is not worth it, not after five years of friendship.

"You know how he gets, everything is a competition with him, it had been all of his life, he has had five brothers to compete with, whatever he does, they have already done it. He will always live in their shadow unless he does something about it. He is jealous of everyone and I never wanted to make him feel less around me, I wanted to be a good friend and by doing so I also let myself down because I was not trying my hardest, I wasn't trying at all. I refuse to do that now. He says that he wants to be Auror but he doesn't take anything seriously, he is not helping himself by slacking off. This is the year where we are supposed to decide what we want to do for the rest of our lives and figure out a way to get there.

"I know what I want to do with the rest of my life, and honestly I do not see him with me because he would only drag me down at this point. He wants fame and glory, he wants everyone to know his name and yet he does nothing that is memorable." He lets out a sad sigh hoping that Ron will be able to shape up and start to take his life seriously. He doesn't want to lose Ron and he knows that he would be able to do anything if he put any effort into it.

"Harry, I know as well as you do that Ron will follow you anywhere, as will I. We had already been talking this summer, he is more prepared for change than you or I thought. We were talking about this very thing, changing the course of our lives because this will be the only chance we probably get. He is at the stage where he is beginning to question the things he knew, especially after what happened during the tournament. But I will let him explain that too you." Hermione sighed and rubbed her eyes before continuing. "I had talked to Professor McGonagall, I told her about wanting to get a job at the Ministry, and there is no chance that I would be getting the job that I want after looking over the statistics. Muggle born witches and wizards never move get promoted from their stations ever, they are stuck at the bottom, where the pure-bloods think we belong. So I decided that I am going to come back to Hogwarts and teach. I mean someone is going to retire by the time I am twenty or I will force them." she laughed, making Harrison laugh along with her.

The two friends sat in comfortable silence for a moment before Hermione decided to speak again. "So are you finally going to tell me where you have been this summer or not?"

"I have been across the street." He told her simply.

Hermione looked at him like he was simple minded, like he should have been anywhere but. "Across the street, seriously?" she asked, not really believing.

"Yeah, I meet a man named Romulus, he's a wizard and he has been a great help, he had even encouraged me to take _Ancient Runes_ and _Arithmancy_ this year." He said proudly.

"That's wonderful Harry, but are you sure you want to do that considering that you'll be learning with the third years?"

"That is not going to be a problem. I have already written to the Professors and they gave me a few tests to see if I know what I am doing and I passed both with flying colors. I will be able to take classes with the fifth years." The proud smile never left his face.

"So what else did this Romulus teach you?" she was a bit sceptical, how much could this one person could teach Harrison in just a summer. But as she looked at him more closely, she could see it. Harrison held a sort of confidence now, something that she had not noticed right away.

"Maybe I'll tell you some other time. But for now I want to talk about your summer." He tells her, hoping that she will leave the topic of him alone for a little while. "Why weren't we allowed to communicate with each other?"

Hermione looked away from him, hoping that he wouldn't be able to see her face and the flash of unnecessary guilt that flashed through her eyes. "We were at the Headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix. Everyone was there Harry, including Sirius. He was losing his mind with worry when we never returned with you. He started yelling at Dumbledore, threatening him if he didn't bring you to him. It was a sight, from what I heard, Molly shooed us away, but Fred and George had made this product that would allow you to hear on others conversation Extendable Ears they called them. Molly had us cleaning the house, it was full of…"

Harrison had kind of missed the way Hermione would talk without pauses. He was about to respond to her when he heard the first footsteps of the morning. They stayed cuddled on the chair for the next hour talking about classes and how they couldn't wait for them to begin tomorrow. By the time eight thirty rolled around Ron still wasn't up so the duo left for breakfast without him.

Harrison took a seat next to Neville Longbottom who was having a one sided conversation with Dean Thomas about Herbology while Hermione took a seat beside him. Harrison took a long good look at Neville; he was not the chubby little wizard he had been before, along with the growth spurt he had last year, now he looks like he is finally comfortable in his own skin. "Mornin' Neville." Harrison said jovially hoping to lift the boys spirits a little when he realized that Dean wasn't pay any attention to what he was saying.

"Mornin' Harry." Neville said with a small smile. "Are you okay? I heard that you had people out looking for." He wasn't saying it out of nosiness or curiosity, he was genuinely worried about Harrison.

"They tend to over react if you haven't noticed yet. I was perfectly fine where I was." Harrison said, he was about to say more before Hermione had elbowed him in the arm as a warning.

He looked around to see a small first year Hufflepuff coming towards him with a letter clutched tightly in her little hands. Harrison looked at her with a gentle smile, waiting for her to hand over the letter, but it seemed that she was having a little trouble being so close to the Boy Who Lived. After a moment or so he finally decided to take pity on her.

"Is that for me?" he asked.

"Uh huh." She said softly nodding her head.

"May I have it?"

She nods her head again but doesn't pass it over. Harrison looks to Neville and motions for him to push over some. He moves over as well, making enough space between him and Hermione for her to sit down "What's your name?" he asked her, as he motions her to sit down beside him.

"Marina Sparrow." She whispered.

"Well it is lovely to meet you Marina Sparrow." Looking at her now he can see that she is new to the castle and clearly over-whelmed by being asked personally by Headmaster Dumbledore to take a personal letter to Harry Potter, the boy who defeated the Dark Lord Voldemort when he was still just a babe. Harrison could feel all the eyes on him, but he wasn't paying them any attention, his attention on the small girl in front of him who still held his letter firmly in her hands. "Have you already eaten?" he asked, offering her some of the food from his plate.

"No, sir." She told him, her voice shaky from nervousness. She had never met a celebrity before, she never expected him to be so nice to her.

"Well we can share mine while you tell me all about your first night in Hufflepuff. And please Marina, call me Harrison." He pushed a fork towards her and told her to dig in.

In all honesty he was in no rush to read whatever Dumbledore had written, which was probably only a nicely written demand to meet him in his office once breakfast is over. The last person Harrison wanted to see was Dumbledore who is forever meddling in his life when he has no right to do so. When he finally took his eyes off the young child who was eating off his plate slowly he saw his entire house staring at him which a particular expression on their faces. Like they couldn't believe that he was being so nice to a tiny first year that was nervous and even a little scared to be in his presence. He looked around with a raised eyebrow daring any one of them to say something about it. He noticed Hermione had a soft smile on her face, liking the changes she was seeing her best friend. How ever, when he looked past Hermione he saw Ron looking down at his food with a scowl on his face, he was always grumpy in the mornings.

Marina hadn't said much throughout breakfast, and when she did speak Harrison had to move closer to hear what she was saying. Harrison couldn't get a lot out of her, but he was going to try. He liked little Marina and he was going to make sure that her experience at Hogwarts was a good one. Not many students have a good time at school and Harrison hoped that he could change that soon. He did not want another student to end up like Moaning Myrtle. If that girl hadn't been constantly bullied than she wouldn't have been in the bathroom when Tom Riddle was entering the Chamber of Secrets with his basilisk, she could have hopefully lived a full life. Students were beginning to disperse all going their separate ways; Marina looked up at Harrison and smiled shyly at him before leaving the table to follow the other first year Hufflepuff students to get a tour of the castle.

Harrison opened the letter, which said to meet him after breakfast was finished. He did not see the point in going; he already knew what it would be about. He would rather finally catch up with his friends. He looked past Hermione and smiled at the familiar sight of Ron stuffing his face with food. When Hermione noticed where his attention was she hit Ron on the arm to grab his attention.

"What?" he asked with his mouth full of food.

Harrison shook his head at Hermione's disgusted face; it was a sight that she should have been used to after four years. "Can we talk about breakfast?" he asked.

"No problem mate." Ron told him with a smile, he had missed his best friend over the summer and was happy that the three of them where together again.

Walking into the Gryffindor common room Harrison felt crowded, he would have figured everyone would have been all over the castle, finding the new routes to their classes, but it seemed the majority of the upper classes were all piled into the same confined space. Harrison had felt better after his talk with Hermione because he really did not want to lose Ron, they were like brothers. Hermione decided that she was going to sit this one out; they needed to work this out on their own. Harrison and Ron made their way over to a vacant table and each of them blew out a loud breath.

Ron had grown a lot over the summer, his talks and lessons with Hermione certainly helped. He knew that before she only tolerated him for Harrison's sake and he her, but as time went, they actually became friends and it was something that Ron was grateful for. He knew that things were going to be different. Voldemort was finally back in his own body and there was nothing stopping him from gaining more followers and more power. He knew that Harrison was not the only one who needed to grow up, he did as well if he was going to be able to help. Hermione has always been the responsible one, but now they all needed to step up if they were finally going to get rid of the Dark Lord once and for all.

Ron had never felt the need to take responsibility, it had never been asked of him before, he was used to getting his way, but he knew now that his behaviour was not acceptable, things were not going to be handed to them, he had to earn what he wanted. And he was not going to let something like childish jealousy come between him and his friends.

They took a seat across from each other. Ron waited for Harrison to start.

"We have been mates for a long time, Ron. You were the first friend that I had ever made, and you have always stuck by me, last year excluded of course. I have always known how you are Ron, but I never thought that you would be that way with me. You were the one who was supposed to know me, better than anyone. You are my brother, and I know brother fight, but you never gave me a chance to explain myself, and when I did you did not take the time to listen to what I said. I have been risking my life since I came to Hogwarts, why would you think I would volunteer for that? For the money and the glory; money I already have plenty of, and why would I want more glory when the glory I do have I don't even want."

"Honestly, I have no idea what had come over me." Harrison looked Ron in eye and the boy looked genuinely confused by his actions. "I know that you never wanted to be in the Tournament, you told me as much many times before. And even if you did want to be in the Tournament there was no way you would know how to confound the Goblet." Ron said sadly. "It was like as soon as I seen you, jealousy and hatred were boiling in me and I didn't know what to do. Because you are my best friend and I do know you, which is how I know we will get to the bottom of this, you, me and Hermione just like we always do."

"I think that this summer may have been a learning experience for all of us. It gave us the chance to grow up, to reflect on past mistakes. I don't want to lose your friendship, but I don't want you to hold me back either. Even you think you're hiding it, jealously shows clearly on your face Ron, Hermione and I can always tell. I was still new to having someone like me, and I didn't want you to leave because I had better grades than you, we both know how you reacted to Hermione and you didn't even know her. I did not want to same treatment so I did just poor enough for you to feel better about yourself and that was wrong of me. Instead of trying to placate you, I should have been trying to help you. I am sorry for that."

Ron had never been the emotional one out of the three, but he had never been closer to tears than he was now. The way he saw things, becoming Harrison's friend was his biggest achievement. It proved that he was worth something in his childish mind, that he was better than others because Harry Potter could have chosen to be friends with anyone else. Sure they rode on the train together, but he stayed closed, listened to him as he talked, they went on amazing adventures together. They had become brothers and it was not something that Ron wanted to jeopardize, but he had without even trying. But he was going to fix it no matter the cost.

"I never meant to hold you back, and I am proud to say that will not be happening again. Hermione is an amazing teacher, who knew?" he laughed. "She had been teaching me Ancient Runes and Arithmancy, sure I will have to take classes with the third years, but I am hoping that with extra help I will be able to skip a few years." Ron looked a little sheepish, but Harrison was proud that he was finally taking his future serious now.

"That's great Ron! Have you given more thought about being an Auror? Because you know you are going to need all of your Potion credits right?"

"Yes, and Hermione was also helping me with that as well."

"What about you, still want to be an Auror like your father?" Ron asked.

"No. I don't think so, I was thinking more along the lines of educating." Now that the state of their friendship was resolved Harrison wanted to move onto new territory. Ron could tell by Harrison's face that this conversation is not going to be so casual.

"You are my best friend; you can tell me anything Harry."

"You're my best friend too, which is why we both need to know where we stand in the near future. I know that my actions are not going to benefit everyone, a lot of people are going to be hurt and they are going to be angry, but it is something that I need to do for myself. With the beliefs that you hold, that your family holds I think that you and your family will be some of them. Because once you find out what is happening we will probably fight about it, and we are both going to end up hurt."

Ron knew that whatever Harrison was going to be doing was not going to go over well with the wizarding world. But Harrison deserved to do things for himself as well. "You know that I would follow you into battle if you asked me too, no matter who it's against, right?" Ron asked sincerely.

Harrison smiled at him, "I am glad to know that Ron. And I am very glad that we met. Now let's go and find Hermione." He said with a smile, happy that things had gone so well, better than he had expected them too.

.

.

.

Harrison, Ron and Hermione were all sitting in the Great Hall eating lunch. Everyone was talking, eating and making jokes just as they normally would, but you could feel the air getting tense as a seventh year student they did not recognize sat down beside Harrison. He sat down calmly and began to eat his food; it wasn't until lunch was almost over did the boy begin to make conversation.

"My mom almost didn't let me come back this year." He said. Everyone near enough to hear turned to look at them, waiting to see what would happen next. Harrison just looked at the guy in question, not sure why this guy was talking to him and where the conversation was going to go. It sounded more like an accusation than anything else. "Because you and the Headmaster, everyone thinks you've gone completely batty."

Everyone was holding their breath, waiting to see what the Boy-Who-Lived was going to say. "I don't see how that is my problem? You and your mother can believe whatever it is that you like, right or wrong. Either you believe what we say and take caution or you don't and live your life the way you have been. It's nothing to do with me." Harrison had gone back to eating, he knew that the older boy was trying to coerce him into a fight, and that might of worked last year when he was a hot tempered little boy.

"There is also talk about Cedric." Another boy said from across the table, seeing as his friends attempt hadn't worked on the younger student.

Everyone's eyes were on the Gryffindor table now. It was so silent that you could hear a pin drop. Even the Syltherins were straining their ears waiting in anticipation for what the Golden Boy of Gryffindor was going to say. There had been rumours spreading around all summer but no one was there, no one knows what really happened, all they know that is Cedric had come back dead and Harrison had been claiming that the Dark Lord had returned. A small group of Syltherin students knew the truth of things seeing as they had been informed from their parents who were indeed there when he had been resurrected. Harrison hadn't reacted like they wanted him to; he continued to eat this lunch like he hadn't heard what had been said. He was not going to dignify that statement with an acknowledgement. Sure he had sad that Cedric had died that night but it was not his fault solely, how was anyone to know that Voldemort had a death Eater inside the school who was also known to be dead.

" _The Daily Prophet_ said that you killed him because he was going to win the Tournament. I almost didn't believe it, but after all the trouble you went through to get into the Tournament there would be no way you were going to come out a loser."

Harrison did look up at that, staring at the seventh year across from him with a blank stare that was beginning to unnerve him. "It's best not to believe everything you hear; especially when it comes to things you know nothing about." His voice was low and calm and that is what scared the students more than anything. "And besides if I really did kill Cedric over something so petty are you sure that you should be antagonizing me right now? If we are going by _The Daily Prophet_ than my control could go at just about anytime if we are not careful."

Even though Harrison's voice had been quiet it was like his voice amplified around the entire room. Everyone was watching him with shocked faces, they had all expected him to get angry and begin to curse the students, not threaten him without actually threatening him that was more the Syltherin's style than Gryffindor's. That was when the fear to begin to creep into some of the students, they were aware that Harrison was powerful, they had heard about the adventure that he and his friends have gone on, most times always landing one of them in the Hospital Wing. Harrison still paid no attention to them and finished his lunch before getting up and walking out the Great Hall, without at another word being said to anyone. Hermione and Ron just stared at one another, they already knew that Harrison had changed, but they now had the proof that they needed. This was going to be quite a year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.


	3. Chapter 3

So I would just like to point out that this is fan-fiction and I am only using the characters and world that Rowling created. I can make them do whatever I want, and I can make them feel whatever I want. If I want Ron to be failing his classes because he doesn't learn as fast as everyone else than I can. And if I want Hermione to feel slightly jealous that someone else had done better than her than I can do that too. I am not doing things by the books or the movies, sure some of the plot will guide my chapters but only barely.

 **Chapter Three: September of '95**

After leaving the Great Hall in utter silence Harrison found himself trekking towards the girls lavatory on the second floor corridor; the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. Sure he had promised Dumbledore in his second year that he would not step foot towards to the chamber again but the different now, he had trusted Dumbledore than. Harrison now suspected that he was being kept from the chamber for other reasons than his apparent safety. It was probably the fact that he could learn a lot of secrets down in the chamber that Salazar Syltherin created himself and that had been added to over the centuries by his many heirs that had been lucky enough to find their hidden legacy.

Who knew what Harrison would uncover beneath Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, he was sure that those secrets could destroy a great many things in the wrong hands, but luckily for the wizarding community Harrison still liked to think he was one of the good guys and would be right by his community even if he didn't think they deserved to be saved when they wouldn't even fight for themselves.

Walking into the lavatory he greeted Moaning Myrtle quickly who was floating above the stall wailing her usual sob story that Harrison did not have the time to listen to today. He went over to the large array of sinks that stood tall in the middle of the room and stopped at the tap with the snake engraved on it. He had not been back to this place since the end of second year when he and Ron went to save Ginny from Tom Riddle's diary. He knew that if it had been anyone else he would have let them rot down there, it was not up to him save every witch and wizard in magical Britain no matter how much people like to tell him otherwise. He had only gone because Ron was his best friend and Ginny was his little sister.

" _Open._ " He hissed in the now familiar language.

He watched as the sinks began to dismantle and the entrance of the Chamber of Secrets was opened. Harrison no long fond of sliding down the dark and grimy hole into a pile of old dried out bones as he had once been when he was twelve. He had more dignity than that, even if it was newly found and demanded to use a stair case instead. He was not surprised to see a spiral staircase begin to form. Now that he was not busy rushing around trying to save lives and defeat Dark Lords and trying not to die from a deadly basilisk bite he had time to look and study every inch that the Chamber of Secrets had to offer him. He looked at the stone snake statues that lined the wet walkway to yet another entrance which leads to the arena where he had killed the basilisk with the sword of Gryffindor, where Tom had almost succeeded in transferring Ginny's life source into himself to gain a corporeal body.

" _Open._ " He hissed again gaining entrance.

As soon as Harrison walked through the portal the first place his eyes led him to was where he had slain the basilisk at the tender age of twelve which seemed so long ago to him now even though he was only fifteen. The great beast was only now beginning to decompose and since he now knew the proper way to harvest the creature Harrison put it under a preservation charm so the material can still be usable when he comes back for it. He than set his eyes on the large statue of the unknown man where the basilisk had been hibernating before Tom awoke it.

To the average witch and wizard this place would seem unremarkable, to them it would seem lackluster compared to what they have grown accustomed to in the wizarding world. It was dreary and grey and leaked water everywhere. Harrison was sure that everyone who had heard tales and rumours of the fabled Chamber of Secrets would feel disappointed because it was not as grand as they imagined it in their minds. But he could feel the magic of the chamber pulsating like a drum in his ear. It felt as though the chamber was welcoming him, inviting him to stay. His heart began to pound to the rhythm of music that magic had created inside him. Harrison knew than that this was where he was meant to be, this was going to be the place that he would be calling home for the next three years, and who knew, maybe he would find a way to come back after he finished Hogwarts.

Harrison walked up to the statue and lightly pressed his hand to it, he could feel the magic vibrating at his fingertips. He was determined to find out who this man was and why he meant so much to Syltherin. Not once in all his school years have they ever went over the Founders or Hogwarts herself during their history lessons, or any other lessons they've had. It seemed as though ever since Headmaster Dumbledore had come into his position things had begun to go down hill very quickly. Harrison would be damned if he let Hogwarts suffer any longer. He hadn't known it at the time but his words had become his vow.

It was still early in the day, not even two o'clock in the afternoon, Harrison had plenty of time to kill and he wanted to spend it searching for every nook and cranny hoping to discover every secret this chamber held, he hoped that he would be able to make a few of his own during his time at Hogwarts. He knew that Hermione would be worried about him after what happened at lunch and his abrupt departure but he wasn't to bother by it, Hermione was always worrying about something. Things like this would be happening for the rest of his life, he was sure of it, so he was not going to let it get to him if there was nothing he could do to change it.

It seemed as though the chamber knew exactly what he wanted, and maybe it did, because he smiled knowingly as the magic seemed to move him in the right direction. He walked past the un-moving basilisk, feeling a small twinge of guilt for having no other choice than to kill the creature when he wished now that there had been a way to save her, she could have told him many things about that chamber and about Syltherin himself and those who had come after him. on the wall next to the looming statue of the unknown man was a small inscription written in Parseltongue. To anyone else it would have looked like a bunch of squiggly lines and dots all mixed together, creating nonsense.

 _I am not immortal but man, though I wish it to be otherwise._

 _Only death shall give me the immortality I crave so long as I prove thyself worthy._

Harrison read the inscription aloud in Parseltongue and watched in slight awe as the wall began to lift; giving an entrance to a place where only few have been able to enter. He watched as the torches lit themselves, and though the room was still dim it gave him a wonderful first view of Salazar Syltherin's private study and bedchamber. He walked further into the large room shelves of books lined the walls. Text books, tombs, and journals alike were all here, waiting to be read. There was also a couch and a chair that face a small fireplace which housed two portraits above. One of Salazar Syltherin when he was young with a man who looked just like the statue he had been wondering about and one of the founders together with Hogwarts in the background. Their faces were filled with smiles. This must have been a time in their early years when Hogwarts was freshly built.

There was a writing desk in the far corner a long with a small cot. Which also had a small wardrobe just off to the side. Harrison walked over, sliding his hand gently along the old wood of the chair before sitting down and making himself comfortable.

Ink pots, quills an parchment littered the desk, and though he hadn't the time to read anything just now, he spotted a letter, peaking out from a piece of unused parchment, he folded it into a small rectangle and tucked it inside his robe, to read when he is not so curious about the rest of the chamber, there was still so much explore that needed to be done. With one last longing look around the study he left it for another day, promising himself that he would be back again tomorrow after classes. He went the way he came remember vaguely that there were more tunnels that possibly ran through the entire school. Once back through the portal that lead to the entrance he found two tunnels. He went to the one nearest the entrance first. Just like in the study the torches on the wall lit themselves giving him enough light to see where he was walking.

When he got so far into the tunnel it became a circular room, it housed two couches and four chairs. There was a large fireplace and a bookshelf that took up an entire stone wall. There was one large table, big enough to fit ten people. It looked cosy and intimate. There were four doors, two on either side of the room. Two for the boy's and girl's sleeping chambers and two separate washrooms. The washrooms were small, just big enough to fit three people inside comfortably, the sleeping chambers were the same, five small cots lined the wall and little wardrobes large enough for three different outfits were across from them. This was nothing like the dorm room he was use to, where five boys would fit quite comfortably. He didn't bother with the girls' rooms, figuring that they would be the same.

He backed out of the common room and out of the tunnel and went to the next tunnel at the other side of the room. He walked into yet another circular room but this one was nothing but wide open space that held four different tunnels. And above each once was labelled. The first tunnel held what would seem to be the classrooms for Transfiguration, Charms and History. Walking into the tunnel the torches lit themselves letting him see more clearly.

The first room on the right was the Transfiguration class. He walked inside to see ten desks and chairs all perfectly aligned. There were posters and charts on the walls and there was a small shelf filled with textbooks and magazines on the subject. Some of the books and articles were pretty up to date, he could only imagine how they found their away into the chamber. The door on the right held the charms classroom. It had the same lay out as the last, and things looked pretty up to date. And the last room was the History classroom. The only difference this room held was the seemingly self-updating timeline that covered all five walls.

Walking into the next tunnel Harrison had found two more classrooms, one for defensive and offensive magic training, and another for magical theory, a class that was only required for your first year at Hogwarts, and people never seemed to think it needed to be talked about in more depth, many people will never have a better understanding of their magic and what it is fully capable of. Harrison is better of for learning it from Romulus. The third tunnel held three classrooms for Arithmancy, Runes and Alchemy, all courses that were needed if you wanted to have a well rounded education. The next tunnel held two classrooms for potions and healing, a class that Harrison wished Hogwarts taught, especially with the war that will be approaching in the near future, weather they are apart of it or not, it will useful to help with the after math of it all.

After exploring each the tunnels and the rooms thoroughly Harrison decides to leave the circular room and try to find some other rooms, that might interesting as well, but who was he kidding, this was the Chamber of Secrets, it's all bound to be interesting. The magic of the chamber pushes him back towards the portal where he goes back through, he never bothered to look around, thinking that there wasn't much to this room, but he was wrong, to the right there were too more tunnels on the far end and to the left there was a ladder leading him down. Harrison walked to the tunnels first, glad that he did not miss this, this time around.

There was a tunnel for ceremonies and rituals, he walked through and into a large triangle room, with a large pentagram on the floor and the five alters at each point of the pentagram. In the corner of the room sat a small bookshelf with no more than twenty books on it and a cupboard that needed to a key to be opened. This room would be perfect for Harrison and with Mabon and Samhain approaching he couldn't wait. He hoped his friends would join him. He left the room in high spirits and searched the other tunnel: wand crafting.

Harrison could remember Romulus telling him that crafting your own wand used to be a right of passage in the old days. It wasn't as if you had someone like Ollivander, making your wands for you. It was once a very private practice. There was another tradition lost to the times that Harrison wished he could bring back. This room was bigger than the others; it was divided into ten sections so each student would be able to work on their wands separately and with enough room that if they messed up it would not affect another's work. From what Romulus had told him wand crafting was very tricky business if you didn't know what you were doing, which is why most witches and wizards have been learning these skills since they were old enough to wield their magic.

Walking out of the tunnel he turns left towards the ladder, only imagining what he is going to find down there. After climbing down he was faced with two wooden doors. He walked to the left, with the door stating greenhouse. Harrison tried to go in there with no expectations, but with all of the other rooms, he wants even the greenhouse to live up to the rest of the chamber, after spending the summer with Romulus he had grown fond of greenhouses, they had spend a lot of time there. Just like the last two tunnels it was empty expect for supplies, and enough room for each person to work. He could spot overgrown mundane plants that weaved itself through the trellis. He continued to walk until he came to another door. There seemed to be both magical and mundane plants thriving.

Harrison knew that this castle and the chamber he was roaming is magical but he didn't think that the plants would last this long if they didn't have someone tending to them regularly. He didn't want to dwell on this too much at the moment he still had one more place to explore before showing his face for dinner. He wasn't sure how Salazar had done it, it was magic that he would love to learn. Walking into the next room, which was labelled forest, Harrison was stunned speechless. He wasn't quite sure but it seemed to him that Salazar had managed to make a real life forest out of nothing inside his chamber of secrets. There were magnificent trees that seemed to reach all the way to the sky, he could see animals, grazing on the grass, not paying him any mind at all.

Harrison would definitely be coming back tomorrow, just thoroughly explore this place. Spinning a circle it seemed that this place went on forever, maybe it did. Salazar Syltherin after all was a great wizard. Though he didn't want to go, he knew that he had too, he had been gone for most of the day, it was nearing six o'clock and the students were already gathering in the Great Hall to eat.

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When Harrison reached the Great Hall, students had already started dinner. He paid no attention to those that were staring at him and whispering to their friends about what had happened early at lunch. He was not surprised that his own house was giving him accusing looks, they were not exactly the loyal sort. He sought out Hermione who was already sitting between Ron who was already stuffing his face with food and Neville who was chatting with Hermione about his new plant, the _Mimbulus Mimbletonia_ , which had been a birthday present from his Uncle Algie; the uncle that has on occasion almost killed his nephew numerous time trying to get his magic to manifest. Harrison wasn't surprised by the topic, since Neville always had a love of plants and everything pertaining to Herbology.

Harrison sat down at the table next to Neville and Dean Thomas who was having a conversation with Ginny Weasley. Before digging into his food he looked back towards the Hufflepuff table to see if he could spot little Marina Sparrow in the large sea of students, it had taken him a moment seeing as she was smaller than most of the first years and didn't stand out in a crowd. What he saw soured the high he had from seeing what he thought to be the full extent of the Chamber of Secrets. She was hunched over the table, just staring at her food. He could see from where he was sitting that her eyes were bloodshot. Her face was pale and Harrison didn't like that look on her. He didn't know why, but he liked Marina, he felt the need to look after her, since it seemed as though everyone else in her house seemed intent on ignoring a suffering first year.

Harrison did not hesitate to get up from his seat and walk straight up to the Hufflepuff table right to Marina who looked close to tears again. Once he reached her he set a hand on her bony shoulder, causing her to jump. When she looked up to see who had touched her, her eyes got two sizes bigger in astonishment. As she began to tremble no one made a move to even attempt to comfort the poor girl. He squatted down so she was roughly the same height as Marina so he could talk directly to her. "Hey Marina, do you mind if I eat with you?" he asked her softly, not wanting everyone to know his business. She looked startled at the suggestion, but Harrison was determined to gain the young girls trust. After a moment where he thought she wasn't going to say anything, she finally nodded her head yes. "Do you mind moving over?" he asked what looked to be a third year boy who was staring at the scene in front of him intently.

Once room was made for Harrison to sit down he quickly and quietly made a plate for Marina and himself, setting it between them. "Dig in." he told her, when she continued to stare at the table, he put a fork in her hand and demanded that she eat something. His tone was not harsh, he didn't want to frighten the girl any further but he needed to make sure she ate. Once she began to eat Harrison began to eat as well, keeping an eye on her all though dinner.

But it would seem as thought history liked to repeat itself, dinner was coming to a close when a seventh year Hufflepuff decided to make a scene. "What has the great Harry Potter slumming it at the Hufflepuff table?" he had said this loud enough for everyone to hear. Now not even trying to be subtle everyone turned around to get a good look at what was taking place in front of them. Everyone else was curious as to why Harry Potter was sitting at the Hufflepuff table as well. "I mean, I noticed you set your sights on our little first year here. My question is what is it you plan on doing with her? We already lost Cedric thanks to you."

Harrison wasn't sure why people had been bringing up Cedric Diggory all day long, he had spent most of the summer obsessing and blaming himself for what had happened until he realized that Cedric's death had not been his fault. He knew that if he hadn't told him to take the cup with him he would still be alive, but how was he to know that the entire Tri-Wizard Tournament had been nothing more than a plan to lure him to Voldemort for his sick ritual. How was Harrison to know that there was a Death Eater roaming around Hogwarts? No one aside from him and a selected few others know about what had really happened during the last task so of course they would assume that Harrison had murder him, their first conclusion would not be he died during a task in a fatal tournament that had been for that exact reason.

Harrison no longer wanted to talk about Cedric to anyone, not after he had finally spilled his guts to Romulus about what had happened that night. "The reason I am 'slumming it' as you so kindly phrased it is because I have grown rather fond of the Little Sparrow here, and she looked about ready to crawl inside herself. Have none of you realized how distraught she is?" he asked the seventh year before looking around the table seeing how some of them looked ashamed while some of them looked just a tad bit smug. Harrison picked up on the problem immediately. Some of the older students were harassing the poor child who looked like she wanted to be swallowed into a black hole. "Continue eating." he whispered to her when he noticed she had started to stare at the food again. "So who is doing it than?" he asked the boy across from him.

"Who is doing what, Potter?"

"I want to know who is harassing my new friend here." He told him, looking down at Marina.

"I am sure I don't know what you're speaking of, and besides, if someone were harassing her I am more than sure she deserved it. I mean this is Hufflepuff after all, how bad can we really be?" he asked snidely.

"What's your name?" Harrison asked him.

"Dennis McCray."

"Well than, Dennis McCray, yes I can clearly see that you are a Hufflepuff, but that doesn't have anything to do with your personality?" he asked. "There are many former Hufflepuff students were have become sinister, and I am sure that there will be many after them as well. I am sure that you will find that there have been several Dark Lords And Ladies that have been from Hufflepuff over the last few centuries. Hufflepuff is for the loyal and hardworking however that does not make you kind even though that is what people seem to think about you lot. Just because you like to keep with your small community of friends like the Ravenclaws does not mean you are not social, just because you don't like to boast and be loud like the Gryffindors do does not mean you do not know how to let loose. And just because you don't brag about it does not mean that you are not as cunning and ambitious as the Syltherins we love to hate.

"Each house has their own way of doing things and each house has their own stereotype. I think that you guys have it the best, no one ever questions your morals, no one ever assumes that you could be the ones behind someone the best pranks this school has ever witnessed. I bet if you were really ambitious you could even get away with murder. So I am going to ask again, who is harassing my new friend?"

All eyes were on him once again, but Harrison was not paying attention to them.

"If you want to tell me who is bullying a small first year girl I will happily give you an oath McCray."

"Why do you care so much?" Dennis asked, not understanding why Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived was taking such an interest in a first year Hufflepuff.

"Because I know what it is liked to be bullied for reasons that are not clear. But the question is why don't you care, you are supposed to be setting an example for the younger students who are emotionally vulnerable."

McCray sighed heavily, he hated to admit it, but Harrison was right and he knew that once Ms. Sprout finds out about this they are going to be in a lot of trouble. "I will tell you, as long as you make an oath."

"You have my word."

"Zacharias Smith and Leanne Felton." McCray said pointing to two fifth year students a few people down from them. "Now the oath."

"I, Harrison James Potter swear on my magic that the following statements are the truth. I did not enter the Tri-Wizard Tournament and I have not asked anyone of age to do so for me. I did not kill Cedric Diggory, the Dark Lord Voldemort had another to do because he was incapable at the given time. The same person who killed Cedric had forcefully taken my blood to resurrect the Dark Lord Voldemort who than tried to kill me. I barely escaped with my life. With magic as my witness, I swear this to be the truth, so mote it be."

After the oath had been taken, everyone looked at Harrison as if they were seeing him for the first time and the Headmaster looked about ready to explode where he sat. Everyone watched as Harrison lit the tip of the wand, showing everyone that he had not lost his magic. Even the Syltherins had been shocked to say the least, they hadn't believed that he had killed Cedric, but they had believed that he had somehow entered himself into the Tri-Wizard Tournament last year. And even though some were already aware, others were somewhat horrified to know that Voldemort was back.

No one bothered him again after that and he continued to eat with Marina who just stared at him in wonder. Harrison just smiled at her and continued to eat, and just relax beside the small girl who seemed like she was in desperate need of a friend.

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Back in the common room, everything was hectic, all Harrison wanted to do was get some sleep after his long day, but everyone in the Gryffindor common room were trying to get to Harrison, wanting to apologize and explain themselves, but he did not want to hear none of it, all he wanted was to write a letter to Romulus and get a good night sleep. Everyone wanted to talk to him about the tournament and Cedric and of course everyone wanted to know what happened with Voldemort. His house was filled with a bunch of backstabbing vultures. Last year none of them wanted to give him the time of day to explain the situations, they all just turned their backs to him, and now that everyone knows that he had never lied they all want to be in his good grace. Harrison wanted nothing to do with any of them; he did not need people like that in his life. He was happy with small circle of friends that he had, there was no reason to bring others into just yet when he didn't know if they could be trusted or not with his secrets, it will only be a matter of time before they turn on him once more as it is.

As he undressed dressed for bed he took the folded note out of his robe and made himself comfortable before opening it.

 _Dear Heir,_

 _You have found the Chamber of Secrets, this is the legacy of_ _Salazar Syltherin himself. He had created this chamber in hopes to bettering those he felt worthy of his private tutelage, worthy of knowing secrets that the other founders would not have been able to comprehend. Though he is considered to be a Dark Wizard that in no way made him to be evil like many people have assumed over the years. If there is one thing I have learned from his chambers it is that there is no sides when it comes to magic. There is no good and evil, there are only those who will rise with it and those who will cower beneath it._

 _I remember when I read a letter similar to this, it was not until my last year at Hogwarts did I realize what it meant to have the blood of Salazar Syltherin in my veins. Everything I had learned about the man had been wrong, but everyone needs a villain so they can have a hero rise up and fight. I had ruined countless lives thinking I was doing the right thing, thinking that I was continuing noble work that my ancestors had started long ago. But I had been a fool not to see it before. He had been grooming me, moulding my life to fit his needs, but than I grew too strong for him, and his plans had backfired._

 _For a long time there was no black and white, nobody was just one thing. There was no such thing as dark and light, just magical beings and those who hunted them. But now things are different they only see good and evil, black and white, they have no idea of the beauty that color brings. It is up to us to show them how it once was, how it can be again. I hope things are different in your time and being a Dark Wizard like many of us were will not be such a hazard as it is now. It is up to you, Heir, to show everyone what this world could be, if you don't like something change it, make a difference for future generations, give them a life you wished you had for yourself._

 _Use this chamber to your advantage; find those you think worthy and let them help you change this world._

 _Tom Marvolo Riddle_


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four: September of '95**

The next morning Harrison sent a letter to Romulus early in the morning, writing about his friends and the little Sparrow that he had come across. He wrote about how he had barely been back and Dumbledore was already trying to summon him.

After sending his letter to Romulus he waited in the common room for Ron and Hermione. The note that he held in his robe pocket weighted heavy, he wanted to know how his friends would react to what he was about to show them, he wanted to get their opinions on the matter as well and depending on their reactions he was going to introduce them to the Chamber after their first day of classes were over.

Harrison sighed heavily as his housemates started pouring into the common room. As he expected of them they wanted to hero worship him again, telling him how brave they thought him to be for facing off against the Dark Lord once more and coming out alive. For most of the day, unless they were Ron Hermione or Neville, he had ignored everyone who tried to talk to him. He was not brave like they thought him to be, he was scared even before he seen Cedric murdered before his eyes and he was terrified to see Voldemort in the flesh, but he was not going to tell them that particular secret.

He was sick of how fickle people in the wizarding world were, it was his choice if he wanted to talk about what was happening, he did not like it when people tried to demand answers out of him, just because they believed him to be the boy who lived meant nothing to him. It was his choice to make if he wanted to be apart of the upcoming war, as far as everyone else knew he was still just a child and they should be treating him like such. And even if he was an adult, knowing what he knows now he still would not want to participate in his farce. Why should he be the one risking his life to save a bunch of Magicals who could care less about him and are not doing anything to prepare themselves.

He was growing angry just thinking about it.

Harrison was sure that the students had already sent out letters to their parents and guardians last night after dinner, and he was sure that today at breakfast that the Great Hall would be flooded with letters expressing their concern about the revelation that Voldemort has risen and the Minister choose to ignore it. It was only a matter of time before children would be taken from school.

Once he seen a thick mane of brown curly hair he jumped up to greet her, trying to get away from his housemates. Knowing that Ron would still be asleep for another ten minutes he and Hermione made their way out of the common room and down to the Great Hall, dodging and ignoring every person who tried to talk to him, even the poor little first years who looked frightened in the first place. Sitting down between Hermione and Ginny he began to eat his breakfast, knowing that Dumbledore is going to want some words with him for the oath he gave yesterday not to mention the fact that he ignored his summons. He looked around the room, hoping to gain sight of Marina eating her breakfast; something else caught his attention instead. Something vibrant and pink, something that he had not noticed yesterday when he had his back turned to the Head Table when he was talking to Dennis McCray and Marina.

"Hermione, who is that," he asked, not liking the overly happy smile that was plastered on her toad like face.

"That would be Professor Delores Umbridge. She also just so happens to be the Minister of Magic's Undersecretary. Ever since your claim that You-Know-Who is back, the Minister has been trying to find a way to get into Hogwarts." Hermione was upset about it that much was clear. "And she is it."

"But that's a good thing, isn't it?" Harrison asked. "Now she can tell the Minister and they can begin to properly help the people prepare."

"I doubt that very much, Harry. Even with the oath you gave, which was reckless by the way. Minister Fudge is incompetent in all things it seems. Did you know that he even with everything happening and that has already happened, he sits in his office and does nothing, its Dolores Umbridge who tells him what and where to sign. And as you can see, things have been getting steadily worse, have they not?"

Harrison didn't even ask her where she got her information from; he could care less about that. But what he did want to know is how the people of wizarding Britain did not kill each other off yet, Minister Fudge has been clearly hadn't a clue as to how to run a country. Harrison could only imagine the Minister in a time of war. One hasn't even started yet and he is already running away from it. He sighed and turned away from Hermione, he watched as Professor McGonagall began to pass out their timetables. Classes were another thing that Harrison was not looking forward too. After all of his learning and training from Romulus, he no longer needed to attend the classes that Hogwarts provided, but he had come back because Romulus said it would be good for him. Harrison isn't so sure about that.

Harrison had no doubt in his mind that he would spend most of his time down in the Chamber of Secrets, and if things went how he wanted them too than he would be taking Marina Sparrow down there with him. He wanted to be someone that she can depend on and trust and with her problems, he wanted to teach her things, mentor her in the ways of magic and everyday life, like Romulus had him. It was something he wished he had upon entering the magical community. He smiled politely and thanked the Transfiguration professor as she handed him his timetable before shoving it in his robes, he could care less about the classes he had to take.

"The Headmaster would like to see you after breakfast Mister Potter." The stern professor said before moving on to the next student. "And by the way Mr. Potter, ten points for that display of inner school unity yesterday."

Harrison rolled his eyes but thanked the professor for the house points before he finished eating, the Headmaster always wanted to have a talk with him, always about nonsense that he could care less about. He knew it was about the oath he had made last night, but he had done what he thought would be best. Even though he does not like to admit it out loud, he had killed a man, but he didn't want the students to think him to be a murderer, he did not like the knowledge that other students and maybe even teachers feared him. He took him time eating just as he had the night before, he was not in any hurry to see what the Headmaster of Hogwarts has to say. When he was finished he left without a word to go see the Dumbledore, who was sure to try something to get Harrison to see things his way.

He told the gargoyles the password and entered into the Headmasters office without so much as a knock for warning. He sat down in front of the old man and waited for him to speak. If you knew what to look for like Harrison did than they would be able to know that the Headmaster was fuming, he did not like the independence that Harrison has found, or the confidence that he had gained thanks to Romulus. Dumbledore wanted the boy to be compliable to his wants.

"Harry, my boy!" Dumbledore said in a joyous voice before popping a lemon drop into his mouth. "I have been so worried about you, when we realized you were not at your relatives we all thought the worst. I am glad to see that I have been mistaken. Where have you been?" he asked, his blue eyes twinkling.

"I don't think where I have been concerns you, but just for your own peace of mind, I was on Privet Drive just not with the Dursley's. That is one place I will never step foot in again."

"I am sorry to say that yes you will be going back next summer, it is safe for you there."

"I have come to realize something that I should have seen a long time ago, you are the Headmaster of my school and nothing more, you have no control on where I stay during my time away from school."

"Now Harry, what I do I do in your best interest to keep you out of harms ways. Ever since the resurrection of Voldemort his followers are getting bolder. Your relatives home is truly the safest place for you to be." Dumbledore's voice was meant to be soothing, but to Harrison it was anything but.

"They have not made a single move all summer, Headmaster. And as for the Dursley's, they are not my family and I will never see their house as a home. The days are gone when I would just go along with everything you say without question. I will not tell you where I have been, and there is no point of using Legitimacy on me, it will not work. And I would appreciate it if you no longer call me into your office just to 'chat'."

"I do not know where you have been or who you have been with but they are clearly manipulating you. How could you have trusted them not to take you to Voldemort the first chance they got? You can not be reckless with your life Harry, there is an entire nation depending on you."

"And there it is," Harrison sighed. "An entire nation depending on a young boy to fight for them when they are giving him nothing to fight for, which is what I am; a young boy though you only seem to see it when it is convenient for you." He sits back and crosses his arms over his chest. "Is that really the world you want to live in Headmaster, one where no one takes responsibility for the messes they create? Where they manipulate prophecies so that they are in their own favour so they never have to get their own hands dirty? You know as well as I do, that I would have never been able to defeat Lord Voldemort, but you never expected me to, did you Headmaster." It wasn't a question but a statement Harrison knew to be true.

Harrison was not stupid, he knew that Dumbledore did not expect him to defeat the Dark Lord, it was clear that Dumbledore wanted him to die trying. He looked shocked at the mention of the prophecy.

"How do you know of the prophecy?" he demanded.

"The question is why have you not told me there was a prophecy concerning me and Lord Voldemort. I asked you once why he was determined to kill me and you never gave me a real answer, you danced around it like you do all important questions concerning me. But the goblins have no problem telling me what I want to know."

"It was for your own protection, you are still too young yet, I was hoping you would be a little bit older before you heard the prophecy. It is a lot to place on one so young."

"Where was that speech when I had to compete in the Tri-Wizard Tournament last year? And speaking of that, after my name came out of the Goblet of Fire I was officially considered an adult in the Wizarding World, I am sure that you had no idea. I bet you wish you tried harder now don't you." Harrison looked at the Headmaster with a small smile on his face. This conversation was clearly not going the way Dumbledore foresaw. "In my opinion prophecies have always been subjective, they can have many meanings? Why are you so sure that I was the child? It could have been a child who was already born, or a child who hasn't been born yet or a child you don't even know. I don't get it, for being such great wizards you and Tom don't really think do you?" Harrison asked a contemplative look on his face.

"Do you not see what is happening Harry?" Dumbledore asked him.

"What is happening here is me telling you that you have no say in my life and I refuse to be a shield that you hide behind in this war."

"This is why I warned you to stay with your relatives, there are many dangers out there, not just physically, or magically, but mentally. Who ever you were with had clouded your mind, but I can help you." Dumbledore was so sure that Harrison would eventually succumb once more to his whims. He did not realize that for the first time in a long time he was finally thinking clearly.

"I do not need your help, Headmaster. I do not need your advice and I do not need your input. When it comes to my life I answer to no one but myself." Harrison will be damned if he falls into the Headmasters manipulation once more. "If that was all you wanted to talk about than I think we are finished here Headmaster."

"This is more I would like to speak about Harry. What you did last night was foolish and you shouldn't have—"

Harrison interrupted him before he could say anything else. "What I did was not foolish, I knew exactly what I was doing when I made that oath. People wanted to know the truth and I gave it to them. What they do with that truth is up to them. They know that I did not willingly enter the tournament; they know that I had no hand in the murder of Cedric, and they know that Lord Voldemort is back once more. Isn't that what you wanted, for people to know that Voldemort is back so that they can prepare themselves or get to a safe location before this war kicks off?" the question was rhetorical, he did not want Dumbledore to answer, but he did anyway.

"Yes, that is what I wanted."

"Yes it is, but let me guess, that is not the way you wanted it done? You can not control the outcome over things that have nothing to do with you. So I ask you, Headmaster, is there anything else?"

Albus Dumbledore looked grave at the thought of Harrison not being his to control anymore, whatever happened to him over the summer really awakened his inner magic. The bonds he had placed on the boy when he had Hagrid take him were gone, that he knew for sure. Harrison had the potential to become the greatest hero the world has ever seen or the darkest villain the world had ever feared. And Dumbledore hoped that he would not turn out to the villain, not after all the hard work he had put into the boy.

"There is one more thing I would like discuss." He said, picking up a letter that he had placed on his desk, the letter that he had sent out to Romulus about his first day back at Hogwarts.

Harrison glared at the old man in front of him, beyond upset that he had tried to read his personal letter, he did not know why he was so surprised by the mans actions. But he was also pleased with himself for writing it out in Parsel-script like Romulus had told him to on the off chance that something like this were to happen. "That letter was not meant for you. Why are you so invested in my life? Sure there is a prophecy, but that could have been about anyone, it was only set into motion because of you, you wanted to play God and used the people around you. You have destroyed lives and created monsters. I no longer want a part of it. You can try and meddle all you want to, but I refuse to respond."

"Who is this letter to?"

"That's not any of your concern.

"I have never seen this language before, what is it?" Dumbledore acted clueless but he had a very good idea of what language was written before him.

Harrison did not respond to the old man. Just sat there looking at him before he finally got up from his seat and moved towards the exit. "I do not want to be called into your office unless you have a valid reason concerning my education." He snatched his letter from the Headmasters hand and left.

Harrison made it to the Charms classroom in a foul mood. The Headmaster had a way of doing that to him. He took a seat near the back, in the only seat left which was besides a Ravenclaw that he did not know. He had not paid attention since Professor Flitwick started going over the syllabus for the semester. He knew these theories and charms like he knew his own mind. But he suffered through the double period by writing down his own charms and the charms that he had improved. Romulus always encouraged him to branch out and try to test his limits, seeing how far he can push himself and the certain limitation of charms and spells, or even if they have a limitation.

When it was time to practise the spells Harrison made sure that he never held back, even Hermione turned around in her chair at the professors exclamation that Harrison had managed it in record time, and while she was happy to see him doing so well in class she also did not like to be upstaged, best friend be damned. This is only going to motivate her to work extra harder in her studies. This seemed to be the pattern of the day, where Harrison would show everyone how much better he is at everything and Hermione would try twice as hard to best him.

By the time dinner rolled around Harrison was in a far better mood. He had just finished sending out his letter with Dobby so that Professor Dumbledore would not get another chance to confiscate the letter.

Finally settling down to eat Hermione finally had the time to talk to him about his incredible transformation, and she had to admit that she was more than a just a little jealous of him, and wanted to know all of his secrets. And if you knew Hermione as well as Harrison did you know how much it would grate her nerves if he did not give up a single detail of his training with Romulus. Instead of giving her what she wanted, he gave her what she needed to hear.

"Anything is possible Hermione as long as you work for it."

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Soon enough classes and homework began to feel routine, Harrison thought that maybe he would feel what he used to feel being inside the ancient castle once more. But that nostalgic feeling had never over taken him, in fact he seemed to spend more time down in the Chamber and with Marina than with his own friends, something that people seemed to notice and talked about. There were many theories, and none of them were accurate, but the one Harrison liked the best was Ron and Hermione's new found love for each other, a love that broke the trio apart because Harrison found himself in love with Hermione as well.

Harrison couldn't believe how simple minded the student population was, but he was happy for a good laugh. He let the students say what they want, as long as Ron and Hermione were not bothered by it than it was nothing for him to really worry about, they found it just as funny as he did. It was true that the two friends had been spending a time together since the beginning of it year but most days they are huddled together in the library pouring over books so Ron has a better knowledge of things that have already been taught to him but couldn't fully absorb.

The end of the month was nearing and Mabon was approaching, Harrison wanted everything to be perfect when he introduced his friends to the ritual. It will be his first time as well, but he had heard many stories from Romulus and was eager to have his own memories. Harrison just hoped that they would not be to appalled that he decided to become a wizard of the Old Ways. He doubted that they even knew the meanings behind most of them since they have long converted to muggle celebrations. But he wanted to experience this with the people who mattered to him, he just wished that Romulus could be here with him also.

He knew that getting his Little Sparrow to join him would not be a problem; she was still fairly new to the wizarding world. Even though her father is a mundane and her mother is a witch she grew up in the mundane world with little contact of witches and wizards. She was still green with the concepts of right and wrong in the wizarding world. Harrison could tell his presence in the young girls life was a positive one. What he loved most was that she was finally opening up to him more about her family and what she had been enduring with her hurtful housemates.

He knew that there was no more time for stalling around, it was a week before Mabon and Harrison had put off showing his friends the letter he found long enough. They were gathered together in a corner of the common room away from everyone else. Ron and Hermione had noticed that Harrison was quieter than they were used to him being and they have been trying to get him to talk all day but he didn't want with so many people around who would try listening to their conversations.

Harrison didn't talk, he just pulled out the note from his pocket and handed to it Hermione who read it with a shocked expression upon her face before passing it to Ron who had a look of rage on his face.

"What the bloody hell is this Harry?" he asked, trying his best not to shout. He did not want to alert anyone to their conversation.

"You've read it Ron, what do you think it is? I was just as surprised as you were when I found it was written by Tom Riddle. As much as you have a right to despise the man, he is not wrong." Harrison saw the look of outrage on his friends face. "All he ever wanted was to make this world a better place and yes he went about the wrong way but he learned from his mistakes and tried to make it right before it was too late but Dumbledore had obviously gotten to him."

He looked away from Ron when he didn't immediately respond and looked to Hermione who still seemed to be contemplating. "You promised to never go back into the Chamber. You have no idea what is down there, Harry."

"That promise was foolish of me to make, it is like a whole other world down there. And if you let me, I want to show you."

Hermione who was always ready to learn something new hesitated. She wasn't sure going down into the Chamber of Secrets was a good idea but she trusted Harry, no matter how much he had changed. He was still the best friend she remembered. Ron on the other hand was ready for whatever he chamber had o offer. He knew that Harry would never lead him or Hermione astray on purpose and he had noting to lose with this endeavour. He like his other two friends had done a lot of learning and growing over the summer, and he realized the only way to get from under his brothers' shadows was to be different. He spent most of his life trying to be like them but that was not the answer, he had to step away from what they wanted to be able to see the kind of person he needed to be.

To say the letter that he had just read shocked him would be an understatement, to know that Voldemort, used to be just like any other teenager in Hogwarts was frightening to him, because it made him realize that people were not born evil like he always wanted to believe, but they were made evil by circumstances that were not entirely all their fault. No matter what Hermione's opinions on the matter were, Ron was ready to follow Harry anywhere.

"I'm with you Harry."

Hermione just looked at Ron for a moment before she spoke. "I am with you too Harry. Always."

Harrison smiled at his friends happy that they were willing to accept this side of him. He was happy that he didn't have to give up on either of his friends, things would never be the same as they were before the summer because they are different than they once were.


End file.
